The main walls, made of a fairly uniform buff sandstone, were quarried near Dorchester.
The corner stone of the legislature previous to the current legislature (known as Province Hall) was situated on the same site as the new one. The corner stone was laid in 1799, one of the oldest buildings to use stone in its structure. However, the stone was restricted to the corners of the edifice, the rest being constructed of wood. The building was finished in 1802 but was destroyed by fire on Feb. 25th, 1880. The current legislature was completed in 1882 and employed up to 65 stone cutters and labourers.
EXERCISE: Compare the stone with that used in the Provincial secretary's building next door. That building was built with local stone. The legislature used stone brought all the way from Dorchester. Why do you think they brought the stone all that way. Is the stone any better than the local stone in the Provincial Secretary's building?
The main walls, made of a fairly uniform buff sandstone, were quarried near Dorchester.
The corner stone of the legislature previous to the current legislature (known as Province Hall) was situated on the same site as the new one. The corner stone was laid in 1799, one of the oldest buildings to use stone in its structure. However, the stone was restricted to the corners of the edifice, the rest being constructed of wood. The building was finished in 1802 but was destroyed by fire on Feb. 25th, 1880. The current legislature was completed in 1882 and employed up to 65 stone cutters and labourers.
EXERCISE: Compare the stone with that used in the Provincial secretary's building next door. That building was built with local stone. The legislature used stone brought all the way from Dorchester. Why do you think they brought the stone all that way. Is the stone any better than the local stone in the Provincial Secretary's building?